Department for Communities and Local Government

Empty Property

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Homes and Communities Agency awarded in (1) 2012–13, (2) 2013–14, and (3) 2014–15 to the Empty Homes programme.

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Governmenthow much of the Affordable Homes Programme they expect to be spent on bringing empty homes back into use.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Homes and Community Agency made available £110.6 million to bring empty homes back into use over two rounds of funding:Round 1 (2012-13) £69,820,695; andRound 2 (2014-15) £40,790,126. The Homes and Community Agency's Affordable Homes Programme will continue to provide funding to bring empty homes back into use. The Affordable Homes Programme is a competitive scheme and the amount of funding allocated to empty homes will depend on the quality of the bids received.

Empty Property

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many houses have been brought back into use through the Empty Homes programme.

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many houses they expect to be brought back into use through the Empty Homes programme in 2015–16.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Empty Homes Programme created 9,044 homes from empty properties between 2012-2015. The number of empty homes is now at its lowest level since records began.Local authorities have powers and strong incentives to tackle empty homes, and through the New Homes Bonus they earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. In addition, councils may also charge up to 150 per cent council tax for homes empty for over two years. Given these levers, the Government has no plans for a further empty homes funding programme.

Property Development: Floods

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will amend guidance to planning authorities in order to strengthen their advice on (1) measures for the prevention and alleviation of flooding when determining planning applications, including off-site improvement works funded by section 106 obligations and the Community Infrastructure Levy; (2) effective sustainable drainage systems; and (3) restrictions on building on flood plains and other sites with a high liability to flooding.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We already have clear, robust planning policy and guidance on flood risk in place. There are strict tests in the National Planning Policy Framework to protect people and property from flooding which all local planning authorities are expected to follow, underpinned by our on-line planning practice guidance.The Framework is clear that through their Local Plans and planning decisions, local planning authorities should avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains. They should develop policies to manage flood risk from all sources and look to safeguard land from development that is required for flood management. They should also use opportunities offered by new development to reduce the causes and impacts of flooding. The Framework makes clear that new development should not increase flood risk elsewhere. In areas at risk of flooding, the Framework states the development should only be considered appropriate where it gives priority to the use of sustainable drainage systems.Planning law requires that planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The Framework is a material consideration in planning decisions.Updated planning guidance is designed to support local planning authorities in the effective implementation of these policies. This includes guidance on sustainable drainage systems which was strengthened last year and the use of mitigation measures to make development safe. Where appropriate, local planning authorities can secure off-site works through planning obligations or the Community Infrastructure Levy. We have made very clear in the guidance that where the Framework’s tests to protect people and property from flooding are not met new development should not be allowed.

Public Sector: Derelict Land

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will extend to government departments, government agencies and other public bodies the requirement for local authorities to publish lists of the brownfield land they own.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Government records details of its land and property holdings on the electronic Property Information Management System database. The Government Property Finder website draws on this information and allows the public to search and map the estate. The Cabinet Office is currently considering future data requirements, including whether there should be any specific reporting requirements on brownfield land.

Local Council Tax Support Schemes Independent Review

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 January (HL4728), whether independence was one of the criteria by which candidates to chair the independent review of localisation of Council Tax support schemes were assessed.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: While independence was not referenced in my earlier answer, Ministers were mindful of independence in considering a chair, and have made it clear that this would be an independent review.

Social Rented Housing: Tower Hamlets

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the legal Transfer Agreement between Tower Hamlets Housing Action Trust and Circle 33 Housing Trust for the transfer of the Tredegar, Monteith and Lefevre estates in Bow to Old Ford Housing Association.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We are not able to place a copy of the document in the Library of the House; the transfer took place in 1999 and records are not kept that long.

Green Belt

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of how many new homes will be built on green belt land in England during 2016.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We do not collate information centrally on the number of sites that are available for residential development. Local planning authorities are required to identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years worth of housing against their housing requirements. Whether those sites are in the Green Belt is again a matter for local planning authorities to consider in line with national planning policy, which makes clear that Green Belt boundaries should be altered only in exceptional circumstances.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Taiwan: Politics and Government

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Democratic Progressive Party's chairwoman, Tsai Ing-Wen, being elected President of Taiwan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), set out in his Statement of 16 January that the Government congratulates the people of Taiwan on the conduct of their elections, and Dr Tsai Ing-wen and the Democratic Progressive Party for having won their support. Our policy on Taiwan has not changed.

Israel: Nuclear Power

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the nuclear agreement with Iran, they plan to make representations to the government of Israel to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and agree to the same level of inspection now accepted by Iran.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament and for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. All state parties should be pushing for universality of the treaty. In that regard, the Government continues to call on all states that are not parties to the NPT, including Israel, to accede to it, and we also continue to call on Israel to agree a full scope Comprehensive Safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Nurses: Training

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the planned replacement of student bursaries by loans, what estimate they have made of the number of additional students who will be accepted into universities for nursing degree courses in 2017–18.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: We expect this reform to enable universities to provide up to 10,000 additional nursing, midwifery and allied health training places over this parliament.

Department for International Development

EU Aid

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the European Parliament's report that 50 per cent of the EU £23 billion aid budget has been delayed or not used, and whether they plan to take steps to terminate the policy of delivering part of the UK overseas aid budget through the EU.

Baroness Verma: The report concerned was compiled by an individual Member of the European Parliament and was not an analysis representing the views of the European Parliament as a whole. It was based on a reading of reports by EU offices in non-EU countries, intended to identify potential problems at an early stage, so that things can be put right in time. In the event that it is proven that money has been wasted, we expect the EU and its audit institutions to take swift and decisive action to recoup funds and to carry out a thorough review of all its programmes to provide a clear set of actions to stop this happening again.

EU Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the report of the European Parliament Budgetary Control Committee on EU external aid and development programmes.

Baroness Verma: The report concerned is based on internal Commission reports from EU delegations in non-EU countries, many of which are fragile or conflict-affected. These reports identify potential problems during implementation, so that things can be put right in time. We have not seen the actual reports, as these are internal Commission management documents. The report highlights the implementation challenges and the steps taken by the Commission to manage these risks, including the withholding of funds where fraud is thought to be to an issue. If it is proven that money has been wasted we expect the EU and its audit institutions to take swift and decisive action to recoup funds and to carry out a thorough review of all its programmes to provide a clear set of actions to stop this happening again.

Balkans: Refugees

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken, both by them internationally and through voluntary agencies, to prevent refugees now in transit through south-eastern Europe from dying of cold; and whether they consider that action is sufficient.

Baroness Verma: The UK is providing £46 million of humanitarian support to address the needs of refugees and other irregular migrants transiting through Europe and the Balkans. This support is enabling host governments and international organisations including the Red Cross, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organisation for Migration, and non-governmental organisations to provide basic care, assistance, protection, and information to people on the move, with a particular focus on children and the most vulnerable. Of this, £30.5 million is specifically targeted at meeting needs during the Winter. This includes 178,000 warm blankets, 1,700 ‘winterised’ tents to shelter people from the cold weather, warm clothing, hot food, medicines and medical support where low temperatures mean more people will get sick.DFID continually reviews humanitarian needs and has deployed experts to countries along the route to assess conditions first-hand. Their assessment is that UK support is appropriate and well targeted, although they remain concerned by the conditions being experienced by already vulnerable people, particularly those who become stranded. DFID will keep the humanitarian situation under review and adapt the UK’s response to emerging needs.

Department for Education

Teachers: Training

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many teachers qualified in (1) Physics, (2) Chemistry, (3) Mathematics, (4) Religious Education, and (5) Modern Foreign Languages in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Lord Nash: The information requested is shown in the table below. Data for the academic year 2014 to 2015 will be published in summer 2016.Numbers Awarded QTSAcademic YearPhysicsChemistryMathematicsReligious EducationModern Foreign Languages2010/115288732,3948021,8672011/126301,1042,2734991,6292012/136279872,1994771,6412013/145429182,2454031,472These figures don’t include any data on Teach First teachers. In addition, data from the first full cohort of School Direct is only available from 2013/14.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Tennis: Corruption

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent allegations of match-fixing in top-level tennis, including at Wimbledon.

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support policing bodies such as the Tennis Integrity Unit to investigate allegations of match-fixing in top-level tennis.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: These are serious accusations and they need to be looked into quickly.The Secretary of State has spoken to the tennis authorities and we ar determined to do all we can to support them in ensuring that the game is absolutely clean, and we are assured they are committed to this aim too. We welcome the news that the Association of Tennis Professionals have announced a thorough independent review into the accusations and that they will be implementing its recommendations.Primary responsibility for monitoring betting markets or sporting events rest with the betting operators and sports governing bodies respectively.

Department for Work and Pensions

Credit

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further plans they have to ensure universal access to affordable credit.

Lord Freud: Government is funding a £38 million Credit Union Expansion Project to enable the credit union sector to improve access to affordable credit.   Government will also continue to support the development of cross sector partnerships to raise awareness and accessibility of affordable credit.

Personal Income

Lord Northbourne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define family income and household income, and whether family income includes the father's income whether or not he is living with his children and their mother.

Lord Freud: The Government does not have a single standard definition of family or household income. The definition used will vary depending on the particular circumstances under consideration.The definition of household income in the National Statistics publication Households Below Average Income, which analyses the income distribution, is:Total income from all sources of all household members including dependants. This definition includes any income received by a household member from an absent parent or former partner.

Home Office

Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons Review

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which, if any, of the recommendations of the report on the welfare of immigration detainees by Stephen Shaw have been rejected, and on what grounds.

Lord Bates: The Government’s position on the Stephen Shaw review was set out in the Written Ministerial Statement laid on 14 January 2016.The Government accepts the broad thrust of Mr Shaw’s recommendations. In particular the Government accepts Mr Shaw’s recommendations to adopt a wider definition of those at risk, including victims of sexual violence, individuals with mental health issues, pregnant women, those with learning difficulties, post-traumatic stress disorder and elderly people, and to recognise the dynamic nature of vulnerabilities. We will introduce a new “adult at risk” concept into decision-making on immigration detention with a clear presumption that people who are at risk should not be detained, building on the existing legal framework.A more detailed mental health needs assessment in immigration removal centres, using the expertise of the Centre for Mental Health, will be carried out and is expected to report in March 2016. NHS commissioners will use that assessment to consider and revisit current provision to ensure healthcare needs are being met appropriately. The Government will also publish a joint Department of Health, NHS and Home Office mental health action plan in April 2016.We will also be considering a number of operational recommendations made by Mr Shaw, on a case by case basis, taking account of available resources.

HM Treasury

Lloyds Banking Group

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the expected timetable for the Lloyds Banking Group share offer.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The government is committed to creating a share owning democracy in Britain. The Lloyds Banking Group share offer will help build that by giving the general public the chance to have a greater stake in our economy and encouraging long-term share ownership. However, given ongoing events in financial markets, now is not the right time to sell shares to retail investors. We have always been clear that sales are dependent on market conditions and the timing of the offer will be kept under review in light of this.

Cabinet Office

Public Records

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the official records from 1987 relating to the ban on the publication of Spycatcher by Peter Wright have not been released to the National Archives under the 20-year rule.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Moving from a 30 year to 20 year rule has meant a doubling of the amount of information to be considered for release. The Cabinet Office is actively reviewing the remaining 1987 and 1988 records and will complete this work as quickly as possible.

Cabinet

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the relationship is of the "political cabinet" to the Cabinet.

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether members of the "political cabinet" have access to (1) matters covered by the Official Secrets Act 1989, or (2) other governmental matters not within the public domain.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Paragraph 4.8 of the Cabinet Manual sets out that political Cabinets are convened by the Prime Minister, but they are not attended by officials. Sensitive papers, such as those covered by the Official Secrets Act 1989, are not distributed to political Cabinets.

Unemployment

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of workless households in the UK in the light of the latest employment figures.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



Referral Letter
(PDF Document, 116.99 KB)

Perinatal Mortality

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many (1) stillbirths, and (2) preventable stillbirths, there were in each of the last 10 years.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



Referral Letter
(PDF Document, 72.47 KB)

Department of Health

Ambulance Services: Performance Standards

Baroness Pinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to the nearest fully-equipped accident and emergency department.

Baroness Pinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the reorganisation of accident and emergency departments in England has affected the time taken for a patient with a serious emergency to be taken from their home to the nearest fully-equipped accident and emergency unit.

Baroness Pinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what strategic oversight is provided to acute hospital trusts in determining the location of specialties in hospitals within that trust.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has advised that it does not collect data on the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to an accident and emergency department. The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local NHS. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population, and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are: (i) support from GP commissioners; (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement; (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice. Locally driven elements of reconfiguration mean delivery will largely be managed by NHS England, who will work closely with commissioners, the Trust Development Authority and Monitor, and only approve the progression of proposals to consultation that have local support. We are aware that NHS England, in their guidance ‘Planning and delivering service changes for patients’, emphasise that NHS service change planners include an analysis of distance and travel times, the impact of these on transport users, as well as the ambulance service. A copy of this guidance is attached.  



NHS England Service Change Planning Guidance
(PDF Document, 2.03 MB)

HIV Infection

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what commitment they have made to supporting HIV support services to enable people with HIV to cope with their new diagnosis and prevent onward transmission.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Care Act 2014 sets out the legal framework for social care in England, and this applies to all adults with support needs including those whose living with HIV. Our Framework for Sexual Health Improvement (2013) a copy of which is attached, highlights the importance of early testing and diagnosis of HIV so that people can receive effective HIV treatment and help prevent new transmissions. In 2014 Public Health England published Making it work, a copy of which attached, setting out guidance to support collaborative local commissioning across all sexual health services.



Framework for Sexual Health Improvement
(PDF Document, 321.31 KB)




Making it Work
(PDF Document, 5.26 MB)

Contraceptives

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 8 December 2015 (HL3838), how they define reasonable access to all methods of contraception in the context of open access sexual health services; what steps they have taken to ensure that local authorities are commissioning open-access sexual health services as mandated by legislation; and whether reasonable access to all methods of contraception includes access to long-acting reversible contraception as recommended by NICE guideline CG30.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department issued guidance to local authorities in March 2013 Commissioning Sexual Health services and interventions (a copy of which is attached) to help local authorities (LAs) to fulfil their legal requirements in relation to open access sexual health services. The guidance sets out that in relation to contraception “reasonable access” is for local determination, but also highlights “there is evidence that it may ultimately be better for patient outcomes, and more cost effective, to offer unrestricted access to all methods for all age groups. This supports women controlling their fertility and ensures contraceptive needs are met using the most effective methods”. The guidance also highlights key findings from the National Institute Clinical Excellence on long-acting reversible contraception. Departmental officials meet regularly with sexual health organisations to consider the commissioning of sexual health services by LAs. Public Health England is undertaking a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health and developing a tool that will improve monitoring of contraception use at LA level.



Commissioning Sexual Health services
(PDF Document, 133.87 KB)

Health Services and Social Services

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of gross domestic product was spent on (1) the NHS and public health, (2) publicly financed adult social care, and (3) both of those, in (a) 1996–97, (b) 2000–01, (c) 2009–10, and (d) for each year thereafter up to and including 2014–15.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Spend as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is usually reported on a United Kingdom basis. The Department is responsible for reporting on health spend in England and is not in a position to provide equivalent spend figures for health and adult social care by the devolved administrations. HM Treasury publish UK health spend figures as a percentage of GDP which are shown in table below. Spend on health in UK as % of GDP YearUK Public Spending on health as a % of GDP1996/975.0%2000/015.2%2009/107.8%2010/117.6%2011/127.4%2012/137.5%2013/147.5%2014/157.4% Source: Table 4.4 HMT, Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2015.Numbers shown do not include total spend on adult social care

Health Services and Social Services

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate will be the percentage of gross domestic product spent on (1) the NHS and public health, (2) publicly financed adult social care, and (c) both of those, following the allocations and economic forecast in the 2015 Spending Review.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department is unable to provide estimated spend figures as a percentage of United Kingdom gross domestic product. The Department reports on health expenditure in England but we are not in a position to provide equivalent health estimated spend figures from the devolved administrations.